This Blog is a digest of a Boston sports fan encompassing the Patriots, Celtics, Red Sox and Boston College Football and Basketball.

Sunday, December 9, 2007

Mike's yearly BCS rant...

I really REALLY hate the bowl system in college football. I hate the questions it leaves unanswered. Sure, we've crowned a national champion, but there are always questions about the participants and somebody getting screwed etc.

I hate the subjectivity of non-automatic bids. This might be my bias from going to BC. BC currently possesses the country's longest bowl winning streak. Do you know why that is? Because it's the same story every year. BC falls just short of a BCS bowl and get passed over for worse football teams in the bowl selection process and then plays a team that's beneath them. Why you ask? 3 Reasons.

1) No bowls are held in the New England area because who the hell wants their bowl to take place in frigid New England in the middle of winter when you could have it in somewhere like Florida? Bowls often like to choose schools that are geographically close to the bowls, like Clemson was for the Chick-Fil-A bowl this year. BC was passed over for this bowl despite winning their division in the ACC, finishing with a better record than Clemson, a higher ranking than Clemson and beating Clemson.

2) BC fans have a reputation for not being willing to travel. Who can blame us for not travelling for this stuff. Who has money for game tickets, plane tickets and hotel rooms or time to do all that for that matter. I love BC football, but I work for my spending money and I live on a tight budget. This is also related to the fact that BC is not near any bowl sites.

3) Sponsors have gigantic boners for programs with more history. Let's face facts, BC's football greatness can be summed up in one pass. More well respected programs like Texas, Nebraska, Ohio State, LSU, Florida, Miami, FSU, Virginia Tech, USC, Notre Dame, etc. always get moved up in the bowl selection process just because they have a dedicated following left over from their national title glory days.

So welcome to the 2007 season where the story repeats again. BC couldn't lock up an automatic BCS bid by beating the Hokies in the ACC title game and were subjected to at large bids. Surely BC should get the second ACC bowl selection with the Gator Bowl, they were ranked #2 in the country at one point and went to the championship game right? Nope, they got passed over for the Virginia Cavaliers, the runner up for the Coastal Division. WELL, at least the third ACC bowl selection should be a lock for the Chick-Fil-A bowl RIGHT? Sorry, why take the BETTER team when you could take the CLOSER team in the Clemson Tigers, see above for additional ranting on this bowl selection. ESPN was even kind enough to provide a look into the process of overlooking a better team with this article:

"Past success is what makes Stokan's current decision so difficult. With the Hokies winning and claiming an automatic spot in a BCS bowl game, Boston College is probably the most deserving team to invite from the ACC. The Eagles, after all, beat Clemson and Virginia Tech during the regular season and have quarterback Matt Ryan, a Heisman Trophy candidate. But Stokan was noticeably discouraged by the small number of Boston College fans who made the trip to Jacksonville.

"We have to protect our ticket," he said."

Doesn't that just make you sick to your stomach? It's not about which team was the best, it's about who would sell the most tickets.

So here we are folks, the Champs Sports Bowl. BC had this exact same bowl a few years back and won it then. Their opponent? The Michigan State Spartans (7-5 Overall 3-5 Big Ten, placed 8th in the Big Ten conference), this team was barely bowl eligible. So, the Eagles will win and the cycle of mediocrity continues.

The killer is, I was sure this was going to be the breakout year, the year we were going to get that automatic BCS bid and make people acknowledge BC football. Maybe next year...

GO TO A PLAYOFF SYSTEM OR TAKE THE BOWL SELECTIONS OUT OF THE HANDS OF THE SPONSORS NOW!!!!